Rising Stars: Meet Michael Coppage

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Coppage.

Hi Michael, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started on punishment a lot as a kid. I spent the equivalent of years on punishment due to poor grades. Punishment back then meant staying in my room until dinner or using the bathroom. There was no TV allowed. All I had was the radio and art supplies. This was the beginning of my journey as an artist. I went to art school and received my BFA and MFA, respectively. Then, I took 10 years off to travel the world. It was at a time when I felt like an outsider, and I had not found my authentic voice. How I made it here is still a mystery. It is lots of travel and hard work, but it still somehow feels like luck. I’m at a point in my career where I’m being commissioned to make permanent public site-based works and produce resolved exhibitions of my choosing. I used to dream about this. Now that I’m here, I realize it was never the destination. I can only forecast so far into the future, but I’m excited to watch my manifestations align.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No. Back then, it was finding my artistic voice. It took 10 years. Grappling with the fact that I was an outsider, the school had yet to prepare me for the business aspects of creative practice or for developing and nurturing professional contacts. I had to start from scratch. Once I got momentum, I could create a lane, but I continued to run into obstacles, mainly in the form of gatekeeping. As a “Black” artist, because my practice is not research-based or aligned with academic scholarship (yet), it is nearly impossible to access prestigious grants, groups, spaces, and opportunities. Plenty of Black academics are masquerading as visual artists and holding the line. After centuries of being excluded, somehow, we’ve created a bubble where we continue to perpetuate the system. This is my biggest challenge. The more siloed we become, the less relevant the work becomes to the layman. I see the contemporary Black arts movement as an army with generals, captains, and soldiers. If we worked in concert, we could cover more ground more quickly. I’m a good soldier, but I’d make a better captain.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might need to become more familiar with what you do, what can you tell them about what you do?
I create painting, sculptural, and lens-based projects that explore negative archetypes and stark racial disparities still operating in the language and psychology of contemporary American culture. I audit contemporary language to create counter-narratives, new definitions, and safe spaces for conversations that lead to increased empathy, understanding, insight, public engagement, and community impact. My intention is for the work to live beyond the moment as a point of reference for those in the future looking for ways to combat injustice. Still, in a more idealized world where equity is more a reality than a daydream, the work can serve as critical documentation of the experiences of marginalized people. I often cite Black experiences, but my inquiry into various forms of oppression can be a resource for any person living on the margins of society. My work, in totality, is a composite reflection of human experiences with universal themes, broad reach, and insightful responses. My images are generalized to provoke the viewer to project their thoughts, feelings, and biases onto the work, creating the impetus for discussion.

I’m known for creating compelling imagery that can often be confrontational and emotional. I speak plainly, which is why my work is so practical. I’m most proud of my ability to take a complex set of thoughts, feelings, and emotions and simplify them into a concise image or object easily understood by the participating public. What sets me apart from others is how I engage all people, not just folks in the art world. I don’t make art to make money, and as a result, the money comes. Everything I make features people with whom I have a relationship from my community in some way. I choose to work in the present and tell stories of people alive today to reduce the time spent looking backward. I’m not an archeologist. I’m interested in shaping the future. The past can help forecast the future, but the present can dictate the future. One medium can’t fully capture everything I think, see, or feel, so I work across and through media until I find the right fit for the conceptual ideas. Even with limited resources, I’m one of the most prolific artists working today. As the work materializes, you will come to believe this, too.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Resilience, healthy internal dialogue, adaptability

Contact Info:

• Website: www.MichaelCoppageArt.com
• Instagram: @Michael_coppage
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/RgA83gDmBhE?si=8_wzmUJwtt4mYZjH
• Other: https://album.link/kcm9qxr8vpkxd

Image Credits
Courtesy of the Artist